One of the most common ways to waste good quality weed is to let it get “old”. But you can completely mitigate this problem if you store your buds correctly. The right storage means considering factors such as light, temperature and humidity – kind of like a grow room! For some tips on keeping your weed fresh for a long period of time, read our guide to storing buds.
We’ve touched on the topics of cannabis shelf-life and weed rehydration here at WeedSeedShop, but now it’s time for some harm reduction. If you store your buds properly, there’s no reason to worry about any of those things!
A great harvest feels great. And a good yield is double-good. And hallelujah that you’ve dried and cured your buds properly. It would be a pity to waste all of that by not thinking about a good storage solution, wouldn’t it?
Any cannabis grower is necessarily posed with the storage issue. Unless, of course, you’re able to consistently smoke your way through a harvest (no judgments here). So how exactly does one keep their buds luscious and fresh all the way through to the next harvest and beyond?
Surprisingly, buds will stay good for a very long time if you look after them well. You’ll never have to worry about dryness or mould if you take our advice. There’s no better way to waste money or your precious growing efforts than to let weed go bad over time. And once you get the hang of it, storing your weed will be like second nature.
So, here’s our guide on keeping your buds skunky fresh!
Start with the right storage containers
When it comes to storage over a long period of time, it matters what material you’re using to store buds. Certain materials have a tendency to trap in moisture, making your buds more susceptible to mould. In general, you want to choose something that is neutral, such as glass.
Paper bags or plastic baggies might be just fine for storing buds for a day or so, but no longer. Plastic will trap in moisture too much, and saturate your buds in humidity.
The best storage containers for weed are glass mason jars. They don’t let too much air or moisture in or out, keeping things regulated inside. They also don’t threaten the flavour of your buds over the long run. Plus, they can be reused for future harvests, so they’re both eco-friendly and worth the small investment in the end (because let’s face it, you’re not going to quit smoking any time soon right?).
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Store in cool, dark places
Light and temperature can degrade the resin and the consistency of your buds over a long time. So it’s best to keep them somewhere dark and cool. Don’t put them above electrical appliances or anything that will transfer heat to your buds.
The most important thing is to avoid temperatures where mould is likely to come by and destroy your weed. Mould and mildew thrive between temperatures of 25 and 30 °C (77 to 86 °F). So keeping your weed in a place that consistently stays below 25°C is ideal.
Another interesting thing to note is that decarboxylation (the conversion of THC-A to THC) takes place when cannabis is heated. So keeping your weed cool ensures that this conversion doesn’t take place until you or someone else actually uses it.
Excessive amounts of sunlight can also lower the quality of cannabis over time, the same way the sunlight dries out a flower if it’s left for too long. The ideal place to store cannabis would be in a cupboard under the stairs or sink, for example. These places tend to stay cool and no sunlight comes in.
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Maintaining the correct humidity
Humidity is another huge factor when it comes to storing weed. For the same reasons that your grow room shouldn’t get too humid, nor should the containers storing your buds.
Relative humidity is one of the best precursors to mould and other contaminants that will compromise your dried cannabis flowers. Having said that, if your storage container lacks moisture entirely, then you also risk your buds completely drying out (and having to use our re-hydration methods).
Monitoring humidity isn’t all that easy, because it’s not exactly something that the naked eye can measure.
If you’ve been growing weed for a while, then you might know what a hygrometer is. It’s the device used to measure the relative humidity (RH) of an area. Having one of these around can make storing weed so much easier.
Keeping buds at an RH of 60-63% will ensure they stay moist enough to avoid losing their flavour and aroma, but not so moist that you’ll attract unwanted visitors such as mould.
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Don’t waste good quality buds
Good quality buds are sticky-icky, full of trichomes and oozing out the delicious skunky smell of weed. Don’t compromise those qualities by failing to store your buds properly – it’s probably the biggest cause of death of top shelf buds. Plus, storing your buds properly keeps the smell inside the jar, so you’re really killing two birds with one stone!
Don’t be tempted by what might seem like the easy solution, such as putting them in the refrigerator. Oh, the horror. It might be a little extra work to find the perfect conditions to store your weed, but once you do, you’ll be nursing good quality buds for years.
I find vacuum packing works well
Vacuum packing can work, but some of us don’t like our buds crushed into a brick. I agree with everything in this article except for not putting it in the fridge. Once cured and stabilized, the cooler and darker you keep your bud the more it will last. After curing, oxygen is something you don’t want either.
An alternative to vacuum packing is to leave an oxygen absorber along with your boveda pack in the jar for a couple weeks after the cure is done, then transfer to fridge or even ideally freezer if you have the room. Keep in mind you don’t want the buds to move around when cold to prevent knocking off trichomes, so pack them fuller for storage and place where they will not be moved until required. Never open a cold jar of buds. Always allow them to sit overnight to thaw and reach room temperature before opening.
Thank you for giving me this great guide, my first time growing great to know these important things.